Scott Bloomquist has seen his Lucas points lead dwindle
At one point in the 2017 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series season it looked as if Scott Bloomquist would run away with the series standings on his way to earning a fourth championship. But after the past several weeks, two competitors have emerged to threaten the No. 0 car’s points dominance.
After the LOLMDS race held at Nebraska’s I-80 Speedway on May 23rd that was won by Bloomquist, his lead stood at 145 points over then second place Tim McCreadie and 210 markers ahead of third standing Josh Richards. Now, ‘Black Sunshine’ holds an advantage far smaller than what it once was.
As the national touring series prepares for a return to what could be considered home territory for Bloomquist this weekend with stops at the Fayetteville Motor Speedway in Fayetteville, NC this Thursday night, Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC on Friday night, and Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, Tenn. on Saturday evening, Richards and McCreadie have closed the gap to 15 and 30 points respectively.
Josh Richards now stands second in the Lucas title chase
This dramatic closure in the standings by the second and third place competitors has come about due to some uncharacteristic inconsistency from the three-time and defending Lucas Oil champ. Since his victory at I-80, Bloomquist has scored finishes of 4th in the Show-me 100 at Lucas Oil Speedway, 10th in the Clash at the Mag at Magnolia Motor Speedway, 18th at Portsmouth Raceway Park, 6th at Mansfield Motor Speedway, and 11th at Muskingum Motor Speedway. To say that posting only one top-5 result in his last five races is outside the norm for this National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame member would be a gross understatement.
During that same stretch of races McCreadie racked up four top-5 finishes while Richards scored three top-5s(including two wins).
Tim McCreadie has closed to within 30 points of Bloomquist
Although it had no bearing on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series standings, Bloomquist also was credited with a last place effort in the Firecracker 100 at the Lernerville Speedway when he was forced to pull off track before the drop of the green flag due to mechanical issues. But of course, it must also be noted that Bloomquist won one of the richest payouts in all of dirt racing when he took home the $100,000 first prize from the Dirt Late Model Dream at the Eldora Speedway during this same time span.
Few would be shocked if Bloomquist were to widen his points lead after this upcoming weekend of racing on the three tracks located within a relatively easy drive from his Mooresburg, Tenn. shop. For that matter, it would not be terribly surprising if he were to come out of the weekend with two or even three wins. However, it is definitely worth noting that the threat to his championship lead is real. And indeed, there is also the possibility that he could come away from the weekend in third place in the standings.
McCreadie, Bloomquist and Richards are in a tight points battle
One thing is for sure. The race for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series title is much closer than many would have thought possible had they been asked to make a prediction one month ago.
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